VOA标准英语2009年-Pakistani Military Pushes Deeper in Milita

By Sean Maroney
Islamabad
30 October 2009

Pakistani troops fighting militants¹ along the Afghan border have seized passports that may be linked to suspects involved in the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States. The discovery came as visiting U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton chided the Pakistani government for failing to vigorously pursue al-Qaida inside Pakistan. In the latest fighting in the South Waziristan region, government troops reportedly killed two dozen militants while losing two of their own soldiers.

 
Seized photos, documents and ammunition² recovered during Pakistani military operations against Taliban militants displayed in South Waziristan, 29 Oct 2009
Pakistani military officials say troops continued to advance deep inside the South Waziristan tribal³ region Friday.

The reported advances near the Afghan border come a day after army officials took journalists into the region for the first time since the operation started in mid-October.

Major-General Khalid Rabbani said troops faced days of fierce battles with foreign fighters and, in the end, captured several large caches of weapons and supplies.

"We have killed many of them. And they are of all types: Chechens, Uzbeks, Turkmen and others. Some of the passports which we have captured without a word would say a lot."

Soldiers displayed the passports, which included a German one reportedly belonging to a man named Said Bahaji.

The name matches that of a German man of Moroccan origin thought to be a member of the Hamburg, Germany cell of al-Qaida. Bahaji is believed to have provided support for the hijackings of American airplanes on September 11, 2001.

Senior Pakistani military officials would not comment on the passports, and they have not been independently verified as genuine.

While in Pakistan this week, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said she finds it hard to believe that the Pakistani government does not know where al-Qaida leaders are hiding in the country.

U.S. officials have long said they believe al-Qaida leader Osama bin⁴ Laden⁵ and his top commanders shifted their base of operation from Afghanistan to Pakistan's largely autonomous⁶ tribal regions after coalition⁷ forces invaded Afghanistan in 2001.

Clinton ended her three-day trip to Pakistan Friday by meeting leaders from the volatile⁸ tribal areas and the North West Frontier Province.

NWFP lawmaker Pir Sabir Shah met with Clinton.

He says he thinks that it is good that the Obama administration is seeking to get firsthand knowledge of the effects that the war against terrorism is causing the U.S. ally.

The NWFP has borne the brunt of Pakistan's recent violence. Earlier this year, the military launched an operation against Taliban militants, which displaced millions of civilians⁹. This week, a car bomb in Peshawar was the country's single deadliest act of terrorism since 2007.

 

1 militants   

激进分子，好斗分子( militant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The militants have been sporadically fighting the government for years. 几年来，反叛分子一直对政府实施零星的战斗。
• Despite the onslaught, Palestinian militants managed to fire off rockets. 尽管如此，巴勒斯坦的激进分子仍然发射导弹。

2 ammunition   

n.军火，弹药

参考例句：

• A few of the jeeps had run out of ammunition.几辆吉普车上的弹药已经用光了。
• They have expended all their ammunition.他们把弹药用光。

3 tribal   

adj.部族的，种族的

参考例句：

• He became skilled in several tribal lingoes.他精通几种部族的语言。
• The country was torn apart by fierce tribal hostilities.那个国家被部落间的激烈冲突弄得四分五裂。

4 bin   

n.箱柜；vt.放入箱内；[计算机] DOS文件名:二进制目标文件

参考例句：

• He emptied several bags of rice into a bin.他把几袋米倒进大箱里。
• He threw the empty bottles in the bin.他把空瓶子扔进垃圾箱。

5 laden   

adj.装满了的；充满了的；负了重担的；苦恼的

参考例句：

• He is laden with heavy responsibility.他肩负重任。
• Dragging the fully laden boat across the sand dunes was no mean feat.将满载货物的船拖过沙丘是一件了不起的事。

6 autonomous   

adj.自治的；独立的

参考例句：

• They proudly declared themselves part of a new autonomous province.他们自豪地宣布成为新自治省的一部分。
• This is a matter that comes within the jurisdiction of the autonomous region.这件事是属于自治区权限以内的事务。

7 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

8 volatile   

adj.反复无常的，挥发性的，稍纵即逝的，脾气火爆的；n.挥发性物质

参考例句：

• With the markets being so volatile,investments are at great risk.由于市场那么变化不定，投资冒着很大的风险。
• His character was weak and volatile.他这个人意志薄弱，喜怒无常。

9 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。